Feeder mechanism for agricultural baler

ABSTRACT

An agricultural baler including a bale case, a feed platform adjacent the bale case, a first feeder mechanism which feeds crop material across the feed platform toward the bale case, and a second feeder mechanism which feeds crop material from the feed platform into the bale case. The second feeder mechanism includes feeder elements that rotate in a generally &#34;apple&#34; shaped path during operation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to agricultural balers and to feedermechanisms for such balers.

A conventional type of baler includes a bale case extending fore-and-aftin the direction of travel of the baler, a reciprocating plunger in thebale case, a feed table or platform extending laterally of the balerfrom the bale case, a pick-up mechanism in front of the feed platform,and feeder means above the feed platform. The pick-up mechanism liftscrop material from the ground and deposits it on the feed platform. Thefeeder means then conveys the crop material across the feed platforminto the bale case where it is compressed into bales by the plunger andautomatically tied.

The feeder means disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,044,243 and 3,367,094includes a first feeder mechanism which moves crop material across thefeed platform toward the bale case and a second feeder mechanism whichdelivers the crop material from the feed platform into the bale case. InU.S. Pat. No. 3,044,243, the first feeder mechanism is comprised ofrotating fingers and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,367,094, the first feedermechanism is comprised of a rotating auger. The second feeder mechanismsdisclosed in the above-mentioned patents are comprised of fingersoscillating laterally of the baler. One drawback of this type of secondfeeder mechanism is that the oscillating motion of the fingers causes anundesirable amount of vibration in the baler, especially when themechanism is operated at high speeds. Another drawback of this type ofsecond feeder mechanism is that the linkages used to support theoscillating fingers usually result in a baler of excessive overallheight.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a baler including a bale case, a feedplatform adjacent the bale case, a first feeder mechanism for feedingcrop material across the feed platform toward the bale case, and asecond feeder mechanism for feeding crop material from the feed platforminto the bale case. The second feeder mechanism includes feeder elementsrotatable about a first axis and about a second axis offset relative tothe first axis. A drive mechanism connected to the feeder elementscauses the feeder elements to rotate around the first axis in onedirection while the feeder elements are being rotated around the secondaxis in the opposite direction.

Preferably, the feeder elements are angularly displaced around the firstaxis in the one direction over an angle which is about one-half theangular displacement of the feeder elements around the second axis inthe opposite direction. Therefore, the feeder elements make a resultantmovement in the one direction along a predetermined path which isgenerally apple shaped.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a baler embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic view taken in the fore-and-aft directionof the baler of FIG. 1 showing one embodiment of the feeder meansaccording to the invention;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are views similar to FIG. 2 but with the components of thefeeder means in different positions;

FIG. 5 is a schematic top view of the feeder means of FIGS. 2, 3 and 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line VI--VI in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view taken along lines VII--VII in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged schematic view of the components of the feedermeans indicated at VIII in FIG. 2;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view illustrating the path of movement of certaincomponents of the feeder means shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 but showing different paths ofmovement of the certain components of the feeder means;

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing another embodiment of thefeeder means; and

FIGS. 12 and 13 are views similar to FIG. 2 showing further embodimentsof the feeder means.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In the following description, right hand and left hand references aredetermined by standing at the rear of the baler and facing in thedirection of forward travel. Also, in the following description, it isto be understood that such terms as "forward", "rearward", "left","right", "upwardly", are words of convenience and are not to beconstrued as limiting terms.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a baler is generally shown at 1 incorporating apreferred embodiment of the improved feed means, designated generally byreference numeral 6, of the present invention. The baler 1 includes atongue 2 extending forwardly of the baler for attachment to a tractor(not shown), a fore-and-aft extending bale case or chamber 3 having aforward end on which a flywheel 4 is rotatably mounted, a feed housingor chamber 5 extending transversely of the baler and located adjacentthe right hand side of the bale case 3 within which is mounted the feedmeans 6. The feed means 6 is adapted to convey crop material into thebase case 3 through an inlet opening 7 therein, and a rotatable croppick-up mechanism 8 mounted forwardly of and below the feed housing 5 isadapted to lift crop material from the field and deliver it to the feedmeans 6.

A plunger (not shown) is mounted for reciprocable movement in the balecase 3 for forming the crop material conveyed therein through the inletopening 7 into rectangular bales. As a bale is formed in the bale case 3it moves progressively towards the rear of the bale case 3 and whencomplete, it is banded with a suitable tying medium and subsequentlyemerges from the rear or discharge end of the bale case 3.

The baler is supported by a pair of ground engaging wheels 9 and, whenarticulately connected at a hitch end 10 of its tongue 2 to the drawbarof the tractor, it may be towed across a field. An input driveline 11 isconnected at its rear end to the baler flywheel 4 and adapted forconnection at its forward end to the power-take-off (pto) shaft (notshown) of the tractor for rotation in unison therewith to supply rotarydriving power to the operating components of the baler 1.

The pick-up mechanism 8 comprises a reel (not shown) rotatable on ashaft, the axis of which is transverse to the longitudinal axis of thebale case 3. This shaft (not shown) is journalled in bearings carried ona pair of spaced side walls 13. The reel has a plurality of outwardlyprojecting tines 14 which project between a plurality of arcuatestripper plates 15.

Crop material elevated by the tines 14 is moved over the plates 15 anddelivered rearwardly to a crop receiving feed platform 16 which extendstransversely from the bale case 3 in a horizontal plane contiguous withthe lower end of the inlet opening 7.

Disposed around the platform 16 is a housing having a side wall 17, arear wall 18 and a slotted top wall 19. This housing forms the feedchamber 5 for the reception of the crop material from the pick-upmechanism 8. Mounted above the top wall 19 of the feed chamber 5 isanother housing 44 comprising a front wall 21, a rear wall 22, sidewalls 23 and 24, a top wall 25 and an intermediate transverse wall 12.See FIGS. 2 and 5.

Transversely spaced apart shafts 26, 27, 28 and 29 are rotatably mountedon the intermediate wall 12 and the rear wall 22 adjacent the bottom ofthe housing 44. The axes of the shafts 26, 27, 28 and 29 are orientedgenerally in a fore-and-aft direction of the baler 1. A sprocket 38 isprovided on the shaft 26, sprockets 39 and 40 are fixed on the shaft 27,sprockets 41 and 42 are fixed on the shaft 28, and a sprocket 43 isfixed on the shaft 29. Chains 45, 46 and 47 extend respectively aroundthe sprockets 38 and 39, 40 and 41, and 42 and 43. Tensioning sprockets48, 49 and 50 shown in FIG. 2 are provided to take up the slack in thechains 45, 46 and 47, respectively. Motive power is supplied from theinput drive line 11 to an angle gearbox 51 mounted on the bale case 3. Asprocket 52 is provided on the gearbox 51, and a sprocket 53 is providedon the shaft 26. A chain 54 extends around the sprockets 52 and 53. Atensioning sprocket 55 shown in FIG. 2 takes up the slack in the chain54. The sprockets 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43 are the same size so that theshafts 26, 27, 28, 29 will rotate at exactly the same speed.Furthermore, the shafts 26, 27, 28, 29 will rotate in the same directionwhich is indicated at 37 in FIGS. 2-4.

Each of the shafts 27, 28 and 29 carries a set of three parallel feedertines 31, 32 and 33 spaced apart along the length of said shafts in thespace between the intermediate wall 12 and the rear wall 22. The feedertines 31, 32 and 33 on the shafts 28 and 29 extend radially therefrom.The feeder tines 31, 32 and 33 on the shaft 27 each have a radiallyextending arm section 56 mounted on the shaft 27 and a tine section 57extending generally perpendicular to the arm section 56. Each tinesection 57 has a leading edge 57a. In operation, each tine section 57moves ahead of a straight line extending from the shaft 27 to the tip ofthe tine section 57.

Referring to FIGS. 2-4 the paths of movement 34, 35 and 36 of the feedertines mounted on the shafts 27, 28 and 29 overlap each other when seenin the axial direction of the shafts. The feeder tines 31, 32 and 33 ofeach set are disposed so that they pass closely alongside thecorresponding feeder tines of the adjacent set or sets to provide astripping or combing off action while avoiding any interference duringoperation. This is best seen in FIG. 5, wherein all the feeder tines onthe shafts 27, 28, 29 are schematically shown in two opposite horizontalpositions substantially 180° apart.

The paths of movement 34, 35 and 36 of the feeder tines mounted on theshafts 27, 28 and 29 fall fully within the space between the feedplatform 16 and the top wall 25 of the housing 44, so that no componentsstick out of the machine shieldings during operation. Thus, a relativelylow profile baler is obtained.

The lower sections of the paths of movement 34, 35 and 36 extend intothe feed chamber 5 so that the feeder tines on the shafts 27, 28, 29sweep across the feed chamber 5 in the direction towards the bale case3. The various feeder tine sets are timed so that each set of feedertines moves about 90° ahead of the next adjacent set of feeder tinescloser to the bale case 3. The set of feeder tines on the shaft 29enters the feed chamber 5, then sweeps through the feed chamber 5 in thedirection toward the bale case 3 and then retracts from the feed chamber5. Next, the set of feeder tines on the shaft 28 enters the feed chamber5 and starts moving across the feed chamber 5 in the direction, towardsthe bale case 3 while stripping or combing off the set of feeder tineson the shaft 29 as they retract from the feed chamber 5. Then the set offeeder tines on the shaft 28 sweeps through the feed chamber 5 in thedirection toward the bale case 3 and retracts in an upward directionfrom tthe feed chamber 5. Next, the set of feeder tines on the shaft 27combs off the set of feeder tines on the shaft 28 as they retract fromthe feed chamber 5, then sweeps through the feed chamber 5 in thedirection toward the bale case 3, and then retracts from the feedchamber 5. Because the leading edge 57a of each feeder tine on the shaft27 is inclined relative to the straight line extending from the axis ofthe shaft 27 through the tip of the feeder tine section 57, the feedertines on the shaft 27 have an improved combing off action relative tothe feeder tines on the shaft 28. The sets of feeder tines on the shafts27, 28 and 29 thus comprise a first feeder mechanism for feeding cropmaterial across the feed platform 16 toward the bale case 3.

As best seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, the shaft 26 comprises a pair of spacedapart stub shafts 61 and 62. Stub shaft 61 is rotatably mounted viabearing 63 on the intermediate wall 12, and stub shaft 62 is rotatablymounted via bearing 64 on the rear wall 22. Stub shaft 61 is hollow androtatably houses a further stub shaft 65. The stub shafts 61 and 62carry at their facing ends parallel cranks 66 and 67, respectively,which are coupled to each other at their free ends by a further shaft68. A bushing 69 is freely rotatably mounted on the shaft 68 and carriesat spaced intervals along its length three identical feeder tinesupports 70, 71 and 72.

Feeder elements in the form of a pair of generally opposite feeder tines73 and 74 are attached to each of the supports 70, 71 and 72 via boltsand nuts 75 as shown in FIG. 2. The feeder tines 73, 74 may be attachedto the supports 70, 71 and 72 in a number of positions so as to provideadjustment possibilities. At least in one position, the feeder tines 73,74 are attached to the supports 70, 71, 72 diametrically opposite toeach other and relative to the shaft 68 in a manner so that each of thefeeder tines 73, 74 moves ahead of a straight line extending from theshaft 68 through the tip of the feeder tine. The feeder tines 73, 74each comprise a mounting section 76 which is angled at substantially 90°relative to a tine section 77. Adjacent the stub shaft 65, a sprocket 78is affixed to the bushing 69 whereby the sprocket 78 and the bushing 69can rotate in unison on the shaft 68.

The stub shaft 65 is mounted coaxially within the hollow stub shaft 61via bearings 79 and 81 and has its opposite ends extending beyond theopposite ends of the stub shaft 61. A sprocket 82 is keyed on one end ofthe stub shaft 65 in the plane of the sprocket 78. A chain 83 extendsaround both sprockets 78 and 82. Sprocket 78 has twice as many teeth assprocket 82. An arm 84 is keyed on the other end of the stub shaft 65and is pivotally coupled at its free end to a rod 85 which extendsthrough an aperture in a support bracket 86 mounted on the baler frame.A pair of stops 87 and 88 are adjustably provided on the rod 85 adjacentthe opposite ends of the support bracket 86. As seen in FIG. 7, stop 87abuts against the portion 86a of the support bracket 86 which facestoward the feed chamber 5. A coil spring 89 is arranged coaxially withthe rod 85 between the support bracket portion 86a and the stop 88. Stubshaft 65 is thus generally stationary except for rather limited angulardisplacement which is permitted by the coil spring 89. An indicator arm91 is firmly secured to the same end of the stub shaft 65 as the arm 84and is movable in unison with the stub shaft 65 in front of a scale (notshown) provided on the front wall 21 of the housing 44. As seen in FIG.6, the indicator arm 91 is secured to stub shaft 65 by a bolt 92 whichextends through an aperture in the front wall 21 and which is screwedinto the end of the stub shaft 65. A spacer ring 93 is provided betweenthe indicator arm 91 and a washer 94 abutting against the end of thestub shaft 65 and the arm 84. The spacer ring 93 projects through theaperture in the front wall 21.

The drive sprocket 53 is firmly secured to the hollow stub shaft 61 atone end thereof and receives motive power from the angled gearbox 51 viathe chain 54. The sprocket 38 is firmly attached to the other end of thehollow stub shaft 61.

When driven, the cranks 66 and 67 together with the shaft 68 are rotatedin the direction 37 around the axis of the hollow stub shaft 61 thusentraining with them the bushing 69 with the feeder tines 73 and 74thereon. The coil spring 89 urges the stop 87 in abutment with thesupport bracket 86 so that the stub shaft 65 and the attached sprocket82 are held stationary. As the bushing 69 and the attached sprocket 78are caused to rotate around the "stationary" sprocket 82, the chain 83which is wrapped around both sprockets 78 and 82 is caused to rollaround the "stationary" sprocket 82 in the same direction 37. As aconsequence, the sprocket 78 and the bushing 69 with the feeder tines73, 74 thereon are caused to rotate in an opposite direction 95 aroundthe shaft 68. Since the sprocket 78 has twice as many teeth as the"stationary" sprocket 82, the bushing 69 is caused to rotate about theshaft 68 at half the speed of rotation of the bushing 69 around theshaft 65. This means that when the bushing 69 and cranks 66, 67 make a360° cycle around the shaft 65 in the direction 37, the bushing 69 andthe feeder tines 73, 74 rotate only over 180° in the opposite direction95 around the shaft 68. Thus, the outer ends of the feeder tines 73, 74make a resultant movement in the direction 37 along a path 96 of aparticular shape.

Since the shafts 27, 28, 29 are rotated at the same speed as the cranks66 and 67, the feeder tines 31, 32 and 33 on the shaft 27 are rotatedtwice as fast as the pairs of feeder tines 73, 74. In other words, thefeeder tines 31, 32 and 33 on the shaft 27 alternatively cooperate withthe feeder tines 73, and then with the feeder tines 74. The movements ofthe feeder tines 73, 74 and the set of feeder tines 31, 32 and 33 on theshaft 27 are timed with respect to each other so that, as the feedertines 31, 32 and 33 retract in an upward direction from the feed chamber5, either the feeder tines 73 or the feeder tines 74 enter the feedchamber 5 to comb off the feeder tines 31, 32 and 33 on the shaft 27. Inorder to provide this combing off action, the pairs of feeder tines 73,74 and the feeder tines 31, 32 and 33 on the shaft 27 are disposed sothat they pass closely alongside each other, but with sufficientclearance therebetween to avoid collision. As seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4,the paths 96 and 34 of the feeder tines 73, 74 and the feeder tines 31,32 and 33 on the shaft 27 overlap each other.

The path of movement 96 of the feeder tines 73, 74 is apple shaped, asseen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. This path 96 remains fully within the spacebetween the top housing wall 25 and the feed platform 16 thus assuring abaler of relatively low profile. The lower part of the path 96 is nearlycircular in shape, whereby the feeder tines 73, 74 sweep across apredetermined portion of the feed chamber 5 and the bale case 3.

FIG. 9 schematically shows the path of movement 96 of the feeder tines73, 74, in relation to the bale case 3, and the orientation of theleading edges 98 of the feeder tines 73, 74, in a plurality ofrotational positions within the feed chamber 5 and the bale case 3. Thefeeder tines 73, 74 are oriented at 98' at a rather small angle relativeto the horizontal as they enter the feed chamber 5. This is advantageousbecause such an orientation permits the feeder tines 74, 74 to morefluently and better comb off the feeder tines 31, 32 and 33 on the shaft27. As the feeder tines 73, 74 move through the feed chamber 5 in thedirection toward the bale case 3, they progressively tilt further toultimately assume a substantially vertical position 98" at the pointwhere they enter the bale case 3 through the inlet opening 7. Thus, atthis point in their cycle the feeder tines 73, 74 have a very positivegrasp on the crop material.

The feeder tines 73, 74 sweep through a corner portion of the bale case3 which is about one third to one fourth the total bale case crosssection. The feeder tines 73, 74 retract from the bale case 3 through aslot (not shown) in the top wall thereof. The feeder tines 73, 74retract from the bale case 3 in an orientation 98'" at a rather steepangle relative to the horizontal. This permits the feeder tines 73, 74to fluently and smoothly release the crop material after it has been fedinto the bale case 3. Because of this particular orientation 98'", theffeeder tines 73, 74 have only a minimal tendency or even no tendency atall for pulling crop through the slot in the bale case top wall. As aresult thereof, there is no longer a need for providing stripper memberson the bale case top wall for combing crop material off the feed fingers73, 74 as they retract from the bale case 3. Thus, an even loading ofthe bale case 3 is obtained with this particular path of movement 96 ofthe feeder tines 73, 74.

The pairs of feeder tines 73, 74 thus comprise a second feeder mechanismfor feeding crop material from the feed platform 16 into the bale case3.

Assuming the feeder tines 73, 74 meet an increased resistance tending toprevent them from fully penetrating the bale case 3, a force will betransmitted back through sprockets 78, 82 and chain 83 to the shaft 65,which as a result thereof will be angularly displaced over apredetermined angle in the direction opposite to the direction ofrotation 37 thus compresing the coil spring 89. Therefore, the coilspring 89 will exert an increased force on the arm 84, and a newequilibrium will be established between the loading on the feeder tines73, 74 and the spring force. As a consequence thereof, the feeder tines73, 74 will penetrate somewhat less deeply into the bale case 3. Thus,the spring 89 protects the second feeder mechanism against overloading.

This limited pivotal movement of the "stationary" shaft 65 reduces thepeak loads in the feeder means 6 resulting from overloading. Also, thisdevice helps in regulating the density of the crop material in the balecase 3 prior to the compression stroke of the plunger and in obtainingan even filling of the entire bale case 3. Furthermore, the angulardisplacement of the shaft 65 causes the indicator arm 91 to be angularlydisplaced to give an indication of the load on the feed fingers 73, 74and thus an indication of the capacity at which the baler is operating.The operator thus can assess the capacity at which the baler isoperating from the angular displacement of the indicator arm 91. Thatis, he can see whether the baler is operating at maximum capacity, belowits maximum capacity, or is being overloaded.

Referring to FIG. 7, the support bracket 86 may be adjustably mounted inany of several positions 99 on the baler frame. This adjustable mountingof the support bracket 86 varies the angular position of the appleshaped path 96, as shown in FIG. 10. Three alternative positions havebeen shown in FIG. 10 in full lines 96, dashed lines 96' and chain lines98". Thereby, the depth of penetration of the feeder tines 73, 74 intothe bale case 3 and also the inclination of the feeder tines 73, 74 atthe point of retraction from the bale case 3 may be varied. Theorientation of the feeder tines 73, 74 is schematically shown at threepoints in each of the paths of movement 96' and 96". In the path 96',the depth of penetration of the feeder tines 73, 74 into the bale case 3is increased, and the feeder tines 73, 74 are inclined at a greaterangle relative to the vertical at the point of retraction from the balecase 3. With the feeder tines 73, 74 penetrating deeper into the balecase 3 and assuming an increased angle of inclination relative to thevertical, more crop material will be fed into the top left corner of thebale case 3.

When operating, as the baler 1 moves along a windrow, the tines 14 ofthe pick-up mechanism 8 lift the crop material from the ground andconvey it over the stripper plates 15 to deposit it on the feed platform16. The sets of feeder tines 31, 32 and 33 and 73, 74 cooperate to sweepthe crop material in successive steps across the feed platform 16 intothe bale case 3. At the beginning of a feed cycle of the feed means 6,the set of feeder tines 31, 32 and 33 on the shaft 29 enters the feedchamber 5 for sweeping crop material collected on the end of the feedplatform 16 remote from the bale case 3 over a predetermined lengthacross the feed platform 16 in the direction of the bale case. This setof feeder tines 31, 32 and 33 adequately clears the corner of the feedchamber 5 remote from the bale case 3 of any accumulated crop material.Thereafter, this set of feeder tines 31, 32 and 33 retracts from thefeed chamber 5 in an upward direction, while the set of feeder tines 31,32 and 33 on tthe shaft 28 enters the feed chamber 5 in a downwarddirection. At this point, the adjacent sets of feeder tines 31, 32 and33 on the shafts 28 and 29 overlap each other and are oriented generallyperpendicular to each other so that the set of feeder tines on the shaft28 combs off the set of feeder tines on the shaft 29 and takes over thecrop material from the set of feeder tines on the shaft 29. This cropmaterial, together with the crop material deposited directly on the feedplatform 16 by the pick-up mechanism 8 at the location generally belowthe set of feeder tines on the shaft 28 is swept across the feedplatform 16 in the direction toward the bale case 3. Meanwhile, the setof feeder tines on the shaft 29 continues rotating in the direction 37.

The set of feeder tines 31, 32 and 33 on the shaft 27 takes over cropmaterial from the set of feeder tines 31, 32 and 33 on the shaft 28 andconveys it together with the crop material received directly on the feedplatform 16 from the pick-up mechanism 8 in the direction towards thebale case 3. The set of feeder tines on the shaft 27 retracts in anupward direction from the feed chamber 5 after it has swept cropmaterial across the feed platform 16 while the sets of feeder tines onthe shafts 28 and 29 continue rotating in the direction 37.

Finally, the feeder tines 73, 74 alternately enter the feed chamber 5and comb off the set of feeder tines 31, 32 and 33 on the shaft 27 asthey retract from the feed chamber 5. At this point, the feeder tines73, 74 are oriented generally perpendicular to the feeder tines 31, 32and 33 on the shaft 27 as seen in FIG. 4. Upon continued rotation of thefeeder tines 73, 74, they progressively move to a generally verticalposition at the point where they move from the feed chamber 5 into thebale case 3, thus sweeping crop material from the feed chamber 5 intothe bale case 3. As the feeder tines 73, 74 move through the bale case3, they tilt over a fairly small angle beyond their vertical position,as seen in FIG. 9. In one adjustment position the angle of inclinationof the feeder tines 73, 74 relative to the vertical at the point ofretraction from the bale case 3 is in the range of 30°. Due to thisrather small inclination together with the upward movement of the feedertines 73, 74, crop material is forced into the upper left hand corner ofthe bale case 3 so that the bale case 3 is entirely filled at asubstantially even density for obtaining properly shaped bales.

If the bales are not shaped properly, correction thereof may be obtainedby adjusting the depth of penetration of the feeder tines 73, 74 intothe bale case 3, and by adjusting the angle of inclination of the feedertines 73, 74 relative to the vertical, in the manner as described above.

During operation of the feed means 6, crop material is pushed along thefeed platform 16 in front of the feeder tines 73, 74 and drapedtherearound. Thus the feeder tines 73, 74 carry a folded charge of cropmaterial into the bale case 3. In the formation of a bale, a pluralityof these charges are fed into the bale case 3 and compressed by theplunger. On compression these charges become slices of the bale. For aproperly shaped bale, these slices must be uniform in density across thebale case 3. This uniform density of the slices depends on the depth andthe way that the feeder tines 73, 74 penetrate the bale case 3 and theway they retract therefrom, and also on the size of the slices. Usually,the more slices a bale comprises and the thinner these slices are, theeasier it is to produce a properly shaped bale. For a large number ofslices, more strokes of the feed means 6 and plunger are needed. Withthe feed means 6 according to the invention, it is possible to operateat a relatively high number of strokes per minute (for example, 120 )without creating an unacceptable amount of variation because thecomponents of the feeder means 6 basically only make rotary movementsand, therefore, the inertia forces caused by these components arerelatively small. The reduced inertia forces reduce the wear on thecomponents of the feeder means 6.

The sprockets 78, 82 and the chain 83 may be replaced by a gear traincomprising a first gear keyed on the shaft 65, a second gear havingtwice as many teeth as the first gear keyed to the bushing 69 and adrive reversing gear therebetween.

The crank 67 and associated stub shaft 62 may be eliminated whereby theshaft 68 would be supported at only one end from the shaft 65 by thecrank 66.

The arm 84, rod 85, stops 87, 88, coil spring 89 and support bracket 86may be eliminated whereby the shaft 65 would be rigidly connected to thebaler frame. Thereby, the shaft 65 would be truly stationary.

The sets of feeder tines 31, 32 and 33 on the shafts 27, 28 and 29 maybe replaced by any other suitable type of feeder mechanism. For example,in the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, the sets of feeder tines 31, 32 and33 on the shafts 27, 28 and 29 have been replaced by a rotatable auger100 which will move crop material across the feed platform 16 toward thebale case 3. The auger 100 cooperates with the feeder tines 73, 74 toconstitute a modified feed means 6a. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 12,the sets of feeder tines 31, 32 and 33 on the shafts 27 and 28 have beenreplaced by pairs of feeder tines 101, 102 which are identical to thefeeder tines 73, 74. The feeder tines 101, 102 are mounted in the samemanner as the feeder tines 73, 74 for movement in the direction 37 in apath 103 which is similar to the path 96. The feeder tines 101, 102together with the feeder tines 31, 32 and 33 on the shaft 29 and thefeeder tines 73, 74 constitute another modified feed means 6 b.

Referring to FIG. 13, the modified feed means 6c is identical to thefeed means 6 shown in FIGS. 2-4 except that the feeder tines 74 havebeen removed and the sprocket 39 has been replaced with a largersprocket 104. Preferably, the sprocket 104 has twice as many teeth asthe sprocket 39 so that the sets of feeder tines 31, 32 and 33 on theshafts 27, 28 and 29 will be rotated at one-half the speed at which theremaining feeder tines 73 are rotated around the shaft 26. It will thenbe apparent that if the feed means 6c and the feed means 6 of FIGS. 2-4are operated at the same number of strokes per minute, the feeder tines73 of the feed means 6c will be rotated around the shaft 26 at twice thespeed of the feeder tines 73, 74 of the feed means 6. Thus, due to theirfaster speed, the feeder tines 73 of the feed means 6c will remain inthe bale case 3 a shorter time than the feeder tines 73, 74 of the feedmeans 6. This allows more variation in the timing between the feed meansand the plunger when using the feed means 6c. Furthermore, due to theirfaster speed, the feeder tines 73 of the feed means 6c may be set toenter the bale case 3 at a later point, i.e. when the plunger is fullyretracted past the bale case inlet opening 7. This reduces the tendencyfor the set of feeder tines on the shaft 27 to push crop materialagainst the side of the plunger, particularly when the feed means 6c isoperated at high speeds. The feeder tines 73 of the feed means 6c alsoreduce the loading on the set of feeder tines on the shaft 27 by combingthem off at the faster speed.

The following claims are intended to cover all modifications andvariations of the preferred embodiments of the invention withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:
 1. In a balerhaving a bale case, a feed platform adjacent said bale case, first feedmeans for feeding crop material across said feed platform toward saidbale case, second feed means for feeding crop material from said feedplatform into said bale case comprising feeder elements rotatable abouta first axis and about a second axis offset relative to said first axis,drive means connected to said feeder elements causing said feederelements to rotate around said first axis in one direction while saidfeeder elements are being rotated around said second axis in theopposite direction, said feeder elements being angularly displacedaround said first axis in said one direction over an angle which isabout one-half the angular displacement of said feeder elements aroundsaid second axis in said opposite direction whereby said feeder elementsmake a resultant movement around said second axis in said oppositedirection along a predetermined path; the improvement comprising:saidfeeder elements each having an arm section and a tine section disposedsubstantially perpendicular to said arm section so that a leading edgeof each said tine section moves ahead of a straight line extendingbetween said second axis and the free end of said tine section duringsaid resultant movement of said feeder elements, and wherein saidleading edge of each said tine section also moves ahead of a straightline extending between said first axis and the free end of said tinesection during said resultant movement of said feeder elements.
 2. Theimprovement as defined in claim 1, wherein said predetermined path issubstantially apple-shaped.
 3. The improvement as defined in claim 2,wherein said feeder elements sweep across at least a portion of saidfeed platform and through at least a portion of said bale case.
 4. Theimprovement as defined in claim 3, wherein said feeder elements are in asubstantially vertical position as they enter said bale case and aretilted at an acute angle relative to the vertical when they retract fromsaid bale case.
 5. The improvement as defined in claim 1 furthercomprising generally stationary means disposed coaxially with saidsecond axis, and said drive means coupling said feeder elements to saidgenerally stationary means.
 6. The improvement as defined in claim 4,wherein said first feed means comprises feeder members rotatable about athird axis along a predetermined path, and said third axis is offsetrelative to said first and second axes.
 7. The improvement as defined inclaim 4, wherein said first feed means comprises an auger rotatableabout an axis disposed substantially perpendicular to said first andsecond axes.
 8. The improvement as defined in claim 6, wherein saidfeeder members of said first feed means are rotated around said thirdaxis at substantially the same speed at which said feeder elements ofsaid second feed means are rotated around said second axis.
 9. Theimprovement as defined in claim 8, wherein said feeder elements of saidsecond feed means comprise pairs of feeder tines spaced apart atlocations along said first axis.
 10. The improvement as defined in claim6, wherein said feeder members of said first feed means are rotatedaround said third axis at about one-half the speed at which said feederelements of said second feed means are rotated around said second axis.11. The improvement as defined in claim 10, wherein said feeder elementsof said second feed means comprise single feeder tines spaced apart atlocations along said first axis.
 12. The improvement as defined in claim6, wherein the predetermined path of rotation of said feeder members ofsaid first feed means around said third axis is generally circular inshape.
 13. The improvement as defined in claim 6, wherein thepredetermined path of rotation of said feeder members of said first feedmeans around said third axis is substantially apple shaped.
 14. Theimprovement as defined in claims 12 or 13, wherein said first feed meanscomprises other feeder members rotatable about a fourth axis along apredetermined path, and said fourth axis is offset relative to saidfirst and second axes.
 15. The improvement as defined in claim 14,whereifn the predetermined path of rotation of said other feeder membersof said first feed means around said fourth axis is generally circularin shape.
 16. The improvement as defined in claim 6, wherein thepredetermined paths of rotation of said feeder members of said firstfeed means and said feeder elements of said second feed means overlapeach other.
 17. The improvement as defined in claim 6, wherein saidfeeder members of said first feed means and said feeder elements of saidsecond feed means are rotated in the same direction around said thirdaxis and said second axis, respectively.
 18. The improvement as definedin claim 5, wherein said drive means includes a first sprocket fixed tosaid generally stationary means, a second sprocket connected to saidfeeder elements, and a chain extending around said first and secondsprockets.
 19. The improvement as defined in claim 18, wherein saidsecond sprocket has twice as many teeth as said first sprocket.
 20. Theimprovement as defined in claim 5, further comprising a first shaftdisposed coaxially with said first axis, a second shaft disposedcoaxially with said second axis, and a crank connected at its ends tosaid first and second shafts.
 21. The improvement as defined in claim20, further comprising a bushing rotatably mounted on said first shaftand carrying said feeder elements, said second shaft hollow and saidgenerally stationary means comprising a third shaft mounted in saidsecond shaft, and said drive means connected between said bushing andsaid third shaft.